Better with Less

Creating BETTER consumer experience with LESS impact on the environment

The world is changing fast. More people than ever before live on our planet and the majority of them will be living in cities. Digitalisation is impacting upon retail and many goods are now enjoyed on the go or delivered straight to customer’s doorstep. The number of brands and products is constantly growing, but at the same time we are battling the challenges posed by the climate change. There is a clear recognition that in the near future the world will need to run on renewable energy. To meet these challenges, we need innovation in all fronts.

Population growth and urbanisation increase product movement, commerce and the use of packaging. Packaging materials are increasingly recycled. For example, in Europe over 80 percent of paper and paperboard is already recycled. However, large amounts of packaging waste still end up in nature, either directly or indirectly. In practical terms, it means for example that in every 60 seconds a garbage truck full of waste would be emptied into a sea. A significant amount of this waste is non-biodegradable packaging material.

Based on an estimate by the UN, the world population is expected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050. Over 65 percent of people will be living in cities. This means even more consumption and more packaging. Smart solutions for delivering and reusing packaging, recycling packaging materials, or collecting materials to be used as a source of city energy, are needed now more than ever.

As the need for reducing waste and saving natural resources grows, packaging design and material selection will have an even bigger role to play. Transparency of origin, easy recycling, as well as convenience and eco-friendliness of the packaging will form an important part of the brand and user experience. At the same time, packaging must continue to do what it originally was designed to do: to protect and promote the product. As a result, the expectations we have for packaging are growing considerably.

Better with Less – Design Challenge invites packaging designers to create new solutions

Innovation is the key to creating better consumer experience with less impact on the environment. Metsä Board invites packaging designers around the world to create environmentally-friendly, functional packaging solutions for some of the world’s most frequently used and fastest growing consumer packages. With the Better with Less – Design Challenge Metsä Board wants to help advance innovative packaging design and share inspiration for sustainable solutions.

The main prize for the Better with Less – Design Challenge is EUR 10,000.
The Better with Less – Design Challenge is also open to students, and as an additional prize, Metsä Board will offer an opportunity for an internship for one student, who will work with Metsä Board’s packaging services team in Shanghai.

Better with Less – Design Challenge starts 6 November, 2017 and ends 31 March, 2018.Read the full brief and join the challenge here.